2018

LAX Harvest Food Donation Program Donates 51,000 Pounds of Food to Local Community Groups

02/05/2018 12:30 PM

For Immediate Release:
February 5, 2018

Contact:
Frederick Badlissi
(424) 646-5260

LAX HARVEST FOOD DONATION PROGRAM GIVES OVER
51,000 POUNDS OF HIGH QUALITY, UNSOLD FOOD TO LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS


(Los Angeles, California) The LAX Harvest Food Donation Program, a partnership between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and concessionaires HMSHost, Hudson Group, and Delaware North, donated 107,151 items, totaling 51,792 pounds, of high-quality, unsold grab-and-go food during 2017. These familiar food items, normally seen in various stores in LAX’s nine terminals, included sandwiches, salads, and wraps along with other fresh food. By donating this food to local community groups, non-profit organizations, and churches, the partnership minimized food waste while working towards addressing food insecurity in the local community.

“The LAX Harvest Food Donation Program is a shining example of creating partnerships to do good here at the airport and for our local community,” said Samantha Bricker, Los Angeles World Airports’ Deputy Executive Director forEnvironmental Programs
. “These food donations make a real impact in helping those facing food insecurity in our communities, while also reducing food waste. I want to thank HMSHost, Hudson Group, and Delaware North for their participation, engagement, and leadership in this important program.”

“At HMSHost, we are committed to making the world a better place by giving back to the local communities in which we operate,” said HMSHost Vice President of Operations Rich Bennett. “We’re honored to be a founding partner of the LAX Harvest Food Donation Program as we continue to make a positive difference not only in the airport’s sustainability efforts, but also in helping feed the local community with our surplus of fresh, high-quality food.”

Since late 2013, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) has partnered with Food Donation Connection, HMS Host, Hudson Group, and Delaware North to collect and donate unsold, ready-to-eat food items fromLAX’s Central Terminal Area to local community service organizations. To date, the LAX Harvest Food Donation Program has donated 504,615 pieces, totaling 246,963 pounds, to organizations serving local communities.

Mike Petersen, Senior Vice President of Operations at Hudson Group, said, “We are honored to be a part of the LAX Harvest Food Donation Program. Hudson Group is a charitable company, and our commitment and participation in the program is just one way we help support the LAX community.”

In 2017, the program won the South Bay Business Environmental Coalition’s SoCal Environmental Excellence Development – or “SEED” – Award in the “Bridge-Builder” category. In 2015, the program received the prestigious Los Angeles County Green Leadership Award for demonstrating "outstanding and innovative environmental sustainability" while benefiting homeless and low-income families and individuals.

Addressing food insecurity is just one of the ways that LAWA and its partners are committed to sustainability and community engagement. For more information about these sustainability measures, LAWA’s latest Sustainability Report can be found at https://www.lawa.org/en/lawa-sustainability/
.
About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

LAX is the fourth busiest airport in the world, second in the United States, and was named one of Skytrax’ 2017 Top 10 Most Improved Airports. LAX served more than84 million passengers in 2017. LAX offers 737 daily nonstop flights to 100 cities in the U.S. and 1,386 weekly nonstop flights to 88 cities in 44 countries on 73 commercial air carriers. LAX ranks 14th in the world and fifth in the U.S. in air cargo tonnage processed, with more than 2.2 million tons of air cargo valued at over $101.4 billion. LAX handled 697,138 operations (landings and takeoffs) in 2016.

An economic study based on 2014 operations reported LAX generated 620,600 jobs in Southern California with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX’s ongoing capital-improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion, $966 million in state and local taxes, and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.

LAX is also the second most popular airport in the world to appear on Instagram according to wego.com. LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.

For more information about LAX, rel="noopener noreferrer" please visit www.flyLAX.com or follow on Twitter @flyLAXAirport, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LAInternationalAirport, and on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/laxairport1.

As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities. Alternative formats in large print, braille, audio, and other forms (if possible) will be provided upon request.

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